


Bravado

by Sunfl0wer78



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Falling In Love, Good Parent Din Djarin, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Soft Din Djarin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29982579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunfl0wer78/pseuds/Sunfl0wer78
Summary: Luke beamed. “Nice to meet you Din and Grogu.” He gave a little wave to the kid who smiled back toothily. He nodded to Din before going to leave. “Um... see ya around?”He blinked. “Sure.”Luke waved awkwardly, then quickly left the quiet little bookstore. He let out a huge sigh, and ran his hands through his hair helplessly.He just had to run into the most attractive man on Earth.-Luke is an actor, Din is a teacher. They fall in love.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda, Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 140
Kudos: 240





	1. Chapter 1

It’s official. Luke should have been a marathon runner. This was ridiculous. He was so, so tired of running away from these guys _every single day._

Okay, sure, there is probably a better way to avoid the paparazzi. But the first time they came after Luke Skywalker, he panicked. And bolted. So now, whenever he sees the unmistakable line of cameras, he just jets out of there as fast as he can.

It was getting exhausting. And embarrassing.

If he saw one more picture of his ugly running face he was gonna scream. 

Luke raced down the sidewalk, sweating in his dark hoodie, years of practice helping him avoid hitting anyone. 

He thought too highly of himself.

He swiftly turned the corner, and collided with something. Hard.

Luke cursed, and tried to regain his balance without falling on top of the body in front of him. He looked up, and froze.

A man stood in front of him. He looked... soft. Messy, curly brown hair flopped onto his forehead. His leather jacket outlined his broad shoulders and slim waist. He had soft features, patchy facial hair and a mustache. 

And the kindest eyes.

Luke turned his head to the side to hide his blush. 

Crap. 

He’s really pretty.

After a moment of Luke getting his head straight, he realized the man had a child cradled in his arm, with a bright green knit hat resting on his tiny head. The man had turned to the side, angling the boy away from Luke so his other arm would take the force of the impact.

Oh no. 

Luke almost hit a child.

“Hey-“ the man stared to say, his voice deep and gruff, because of course it was. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by the flashing lights of the paparazzi. 

Luke wanted to scream.

Naturally, Luke grabbed the stranger’s arm, and took off.

The man didn’t seem to question it and ran beside Luke, the little boy in his arm laughing.

Eventually, Luke pulled them into a book store he prayed was empty. Thankfully, it was.

He quickly pulled the door shut, bell jingling overhead. He turned, breathing heavily, and looked at the other man.

“I’m so sorry,” Luke said, honestly. “Those guys never leave me alone, it confuses them when I run so I just try to get out of there as quick as I can.”

The man hesitated, then nodded. “...I get it,” he said. His voice was gentle. Soft. He rubbed the back of the kid in his arms. He looked up.

“If you need any help with those guys, I could help with that.”

Luke laughed. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I have it handled, thank you though.”

The man arched a brow. “By running?”

Luke scoffed. “Hey- strategic running!” The man chuckled, and Luke felt his heart may combust.

“I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Luke didn’t think this man could be much help with the paparazzi, but he really appreciated the sentiment. It was strange, usually when he met people on street they freaked out and asked for a picture. Which was fine of course, this was just... different. Guess he didn’t care? 

Huh. 

It was... 

Nice.

Really nice.

Luke smiled at him. “Well... sorry again. It was nice to meet you...?”

“Din,” he said. “And Grogu.” 

Luke beamed. “Nice to meet you Din and Grogu.” He gave a little wave to the kid who smiled back toothily. He nodded to Din before going to leave. “Um... see ya around?”

He blinked. “Sure.”

Luke waved awkwardly, then quickly left the quiet little bookstore. He let out a huge sigh, running his hands through his hair helplessly.

He just had to run into the most attractive man on Earth. Luke was so embarrassed.

And yet...

Luke really hoped he would see him again.

-

Din stepped out of his minivan. Sure, it was beaten and falling apart. But it was loved. He opened the side door, and gently picked up his son. Grogu giggled, and held on to his dads hand. 

Din yawned, walking in to the school where he worked.

5th grade English. Hell yeah. 

Honestly? Din loved it. Even if it was never what he thought he would be doing with his life. But neither was adopting the little boy he saved.

Guess his life was full of the best surprises.

Like running into the prettiest man he’s ever seen.

Two days had passed since he had seen him, but Din couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was... strange. He was expecting some asshole who was too self centered to look where he was going. But, it was just a man. A man running from... something. Din didn’t know who was following him, but it didn’t look good. And Din truly did want to help, he had accidentally made a habit of helping people with any kind of trouble. Kind of like how he found Grogu. So now, it’s just what he did. No questions asked. He was a veteran, he was fairly confident he could take them out. 

Din walked into the school to drop off his son. Grogu’s Kindergarten class was on the other side of the school from Din’s classroom, and Din always made sure to drop him off.

He entered the room, and knelt down on one knee, just like every morning. 

“Alright kid,” Din said seriously, looking him in the eye. “Be good. Don’t eat anything weird, no eating anything that’s not yours, and _please_ do not eat the pet frog, okay?” Grogu giggled, and reached out a tiny hand to pat his fathers chin. Din smiled, and held his hand gently.

“I love you buddy, I’ll see you later. I promise,” he said, ruffling his son’s hair. Grogu beamed. Din got up, and Grogu waved until he was gone from sight. Grogu didn’t talk much at school, or around others really. He talked when he was comfortable, and Din would never force him.

Din sighed, making his way through the hallway. He didn’t like leaving his son. They both had a little separation anxiety. After all, both of them had been lonely for far too long.

On Grogu’s first day of school, he had run out of his class 6 times for Din’s classroom.

Din checked on him 8 separate times. And cried. ...yeah.

They loved each other. A lot.

But now, they were a lot more comfortable with being separated. They knew they would see each other again soon. Din always keeps his promises.

They didn’t have to like it though. 

Din set down his bag as he entered his classroom. His room wasn’t much to look at, but his students brought life to it everyday.

As Din got out his materials, his thoughts wandered back to the strange man from the other day. Their whole interaction was... strange.

Look, Din was by no means an expert in social situations. At all. But he was pretty sure, when he gave his name, the other person in the conversation was supposed to give it back? Din was hoping he could... get to know him.

No. 

Maybe.

Whatever. 

Why did he have to be cute.

And sweet.

Ughhhhhhh.

Din rubbed his hand over his face as the bell rang, and students slowly started to trickle in.

“Good Morning Mr Djarin!”

“Morning Winta,” Din replied. Other students greeted him, and he responded warmly. He did everything he could to make sure his kids felt comfortable and welcomed in his classroom. 

“Guys, did you hear about Luke Skywalker?” A student said to the class. 

Oh boy.

“No?! What is it?!” Another replied. The class turned to Alena. 

“People think he’s dating! There’s pictures of him with someone!” 

“WHAT?” The class huddled around Alena. Din shook his head. Their love of this actor continued to surprise him. Apparently he was in a bunch of movies Din had never seen, and was _very very very cute._ Winta insisted the 3 verys were crucial when talking about _The Luke Skywalker._ Din had no room to argue, he had never seen the man.

He had never heard of the guy until his class started talking about him.

“You can’t even see the other person in this picture!”

“Yeah, how can we know they’re dating?”

“We don’t dummy, they’re just spec-u-lating.”

“Hey,” Din said. “Don’t call people that, she was just asking a question.”

“Sorry Mr. Djarin, you’re right, sorry Alena.”

“It’s all good! Now come on, we gotta investigate this picture.”

“What’s that thing we were learning? Inframing?” 

Din smiled. “Inferencing,” he corrected gently.

“Yeah we gotta inference!” Jeremy said.

“Wait, I have an idea!” Winta said excitedly. “Can this be an assignment? We can see what we can inference from this picture.”

Winta was known for coming up with wild ideas, which Din loved. It was great to see a student so excited. But this time, Din paused. Huh. That was pretty smart. It did use what they were learning... and if if included something they liked it they would enjoy it.

Din sighed, smiling. “Yeah, let’s do it. Good idea Winta.”

Winta beamed, and the class ran back to their desks. Din gestured for Alena to come over to him so she could pull up the picture on his computer. They were all a lot better with technology than he was. Much better.

“Alright..” he murmured. “Here we go...” He turned on the projector, and looked at the picture on the board of this strange actor and his supposed partner.

Din looked at his class.

He looked back to the picture. 

He looked at his class.

He looked at the picture one more time. And stared at it.

What the hell.

He could see the back of a man standing on the corner of a sidewalk. His arms were at his sides, his face turnt to the side, with a slight blush on his cheeks. His body blocked that of the persons in front of him. But, Din could see the other persons shoulders. A bit of curly brown hair. And the top of a child’s bright green hat. Grogu’s hat. The one Din knitted _himself._

Oh my god.

That was him.

Din was in this picture.

So that means...

“So, that’s Luke Skywalker of course!” Alena said confidently.

Luke Skywalker ran into him on the street.

...

Din still had no clue who he was.

...At least he knew his name now. Heh.

“Soo,” Nathan said. “We can see brown hair!”

“Uh huh,” Din said.

“And shoulders! They definitely have shoulders.”

“Good... good,” Din said. Shaking. He was shaking.

“There’s something green right there!”

“I think it’s a purse.”

“Yuh It’s gotta be a purse.”

Din nodded. “...Purse... very good.” Definitely not a purse. 100% Grogu’s hat. 

Okay, you gotta be a teacher Din. Get it together. “So, can we make any inferences about what we see?”

Winta raised her hand. “I can see that Luke Skywalker is blushing, and he’s smiling. So he obviously cares about the other person a lot.”

...right.

“...Good job, anyone else?”

Tyrell raised his hand. “Whenever it says someone blushed in the books we read, it means they think someone’s hot.”

Din did not teach them that.

“So, naturally, Luke Skywalker thinks this person is hot.”

Din’s heart jumped in his chest. Ha. Aha ha. Heh.

The class nodded enthusiastically.

“Great job everyone,” Din said, strained. He cleared his throat. 

There’s no way Luke thought he was hot.

No way.

...But he was blushing.

Hm.

As he taught class that day, his thoughts continually wandered back to this Luke Skywalker


	2. Chapter 2

“Luke, why didn’t you tell me you were dating someone?”

Luke groaned, and buried his head in his hands. Han sat across from him, with a smirk on his face.

“I’m not dating anyone, Han-“

“Yeah, well,” he said, pulling out his phone. “Every news article who gives a crap about your love life thinks otherwise.”

Luke reached across the table to grab Han’s phone.

_Luke Skywalker off the market?_

_Luke Skywalker gets close with new partner!_

_Luke Skywalker in love with mystery man!_

_Who is Luke Skywalker’s new boyfriend?_

_Who is he?_

_Who is he?_

_Who is he?_

Luke had seen it all in the past couple of days.

He wanted to scream.

“I literally just ran into him on the street!” He said, running his hands through his hair. “I don’t even know him!”

This was terrible. Now that kind, beautiful father, _who was probably married_ , was going to hate him. If anyone found out who Din was, they would never stop harassing him.

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh

He had never wished more to not be a celebrity.

Han rolled his eyes. “If it’s any consolation,” he said. “I’m sure the guy will love people thinking he’s dating _The_ Luke Skywalker.”

No, no. 

“Honestly,” Luke said. “The guy didn’t even care who I was. It was like he didn’t even recognize me.”

“Well I doubt that,” Han said with a scoff. “If he’s seen any movie, ever, he’ll know who you are. He probably just thinks you’re a shit actor.”

Luke glared at him. Not helping, Han.

Han snorted. “Oh come on kid, don’t look to down about it. I’m sure it’ll all blow over soon.”

Luke dropped his head on to his arms. Han’s right. It’ll all be over soon. Thankfully....

So why couldn’t he stop thinking about Din?

-

Cara busted into Din’s classroom.

“Are you dating Luke Skywalker?” She asked. Loudly.

Din just couldn’t catch a break.

Cara Dune taught the gym class. When Din was newly hired, she immediately challenged him to arm wrestle. Apparently, it was some tradition for her to challenge every single teacher in the school. It took a bit, but Din eventually won. Din was surprised, honestly, Cara was ripped. He thinks Grogu intimidated her, as he does. But Cara just laughed, slapping Din’s back and welcoming him to the school.

Now? She was his closest friend. She knew more about him than anyone.

At the moment, however, he may be regretting it.

“How come,” She began. Din sighed. Here we go. “All these kids kept coming to my class talking about this big time actors love life, and I was like okay whatever, enjoy what you want. THEN, I realize they’re talking about Luke Skywalker, so of course I had to check it out. Apparently some picture is circulating the internet? Which I didn’t know shit about. So they show me the picture. And what do I see?”

Din stared at her.

“Your son’s ugly green hat,” She finished, slamming her phone on his desk.

“It’s not ugly,” Din muttered, avoiding her eyes.

“Oh, it definitely is,” she said. “But that’s not what I’m here to talk about it.”

Din sighed, putting down his sandwich. Why did she always have to come in on his lunch break.

“Cara,” he said. “I’m not dating him. I don’t even know who he is.”

Cara stared at him. “So, why is there a picture of you two together?”

“He ran into me.”

She raised an eyebrow.

Din glared back.

“Damn,” Cara laughed. “I really shouldn’t be surprised, honestly.”

Din shook his head. “I didn’t even know his name until this morning.”

“You’re unbelievable. You didn’t recognize him?”

“Nope,” He said, clenching his jaw. “Please tell me you didn’t tell anyone.” If these kids found out he was in that picture, he would never hear the end of it. Never. And he would never let Grogu’s privacy be invaded like that.

“Nobody knows,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone.”

Din sighed, relieved. “Thank you, Cara.”

She smiled mischievously. “Alright, but now the question is: do you want to date him?”

Din opened his mouth, ready to deny the idea, but then he thought for a moment, remembering Luke’s bright smile and crystal blue eyes.

Din blushed.

“Oh my god!” Cara said, beaming.

“No- damn it,” He tried to dispute, but it was too late. The damage was done.

“Don’t worry buddy,” she laughed. “Your secrets safe with me.”

-

Din sat in the back of a practically empty restaurant. It was Friday night, so he and Grogu decided to go out to eat. Din didn’t really like going out all that much, he was perfectly content spending the night at home. Going out was stressful, too many people. But, he’s learned that with Grogu, things like this are a lot easier.

Din smiled softly as he handed his son the kids menu, setting the crayons beside him.

Grogu giggled, and Din looked down at his own menu. 

But after only a few moments, a loud crash sounded from a few aisles down.

Din’s head quickly turned to the source of noise. A waiter had dropped their tray of drinks, and was currently kneeling on the ground attempting to sweep up the shards of glass.

Din sighed. Of course he was going to help.

“Stay here for a sec, okay?” He told Grogu. “I’ll be right back.” Grogu nodded, and Din quickly got up. He made his way over, and saw a hooded guest standing up to do the same.

The waiter apologized profusely as Din and the other man kneeled and gathered the glass from across the floor. The man shook his head. 

“Don’t worry about it!” He exclaimed, pulling his hoodie away from his face.

...

Wait. 

He finished adjusting his black hoodie, revealing blonde hair and bright blue eyes. 

Not again....

Luke Skywalker swept up the final pieces of glass as the waiter glanced up at him. Their eyes widened, and they immediately hurried away. Luke shrugged, and slowly turned to look at him.

Luke’s mouth fell open. “Din?!” He said, the surprise evident in his voice.

“Uh... yeah?”

Smooth, Din. Smooth.

Luke beamed, his face bright. “I didn’t think I’d see you again! What are you doing here?”

Don’t screw this up, Djarin.

Din paused. “...eating?”

He wanted to scream.

But Luke just laughed, running his hand through his hair. “Yeah, that’s fair,” He said. “I’m not doing too much of that, unfortunately.”

Din tilted his head. 

Luke grimaced. “It’s fine,” he said quickly. “My sister was going to meet me for lunch, but she got called into work last minute so I’m on my own. I’ll probably just leave, It was good seeing you-“

“Uh-“ 

Luke looked up, catching his eyes. His gaze made Din hesitate. 

He was about to do something very, very, very dumb. 

“....Would like to come eat with me and Grogu?”

Luke’s eyes widened. “Really?” He asked, incredulous.

“You don’t have to, I know you probably just wanted to see your sister. Don’t feel like you’re obligated to join us-“

Luke beamed. “I’d love to!”

Din’s heart stuttered. “Great,” he said softly. 

Din led Luke back to his table where Grogu had waited patiently, surprisingly. And without eating anything strange. What a win. With a pat on Grogu’s back, Din slid in next to his son, and Luke took his place across from them.

“Hi Grogu!” Luke exclaimed. Grogu gave a small wave and a toothy smile. 

Luke looked elated. 

“Thank you for letting me eat with you,” He said, turning to Din.

Din shook his head. “No thanks needed. I’m sorry your sister couldn’t make it.”

Luke waved him off. “It’s alright. Not ideal, of course, but our jobs are both pretty unexpected so we’re used to it by now, but I appreciate it.”

Din nodded. “What do you do?”

Idiot. He was an idiot.

Luke paused. “I’m...an actor,” he said with a slight laugh.

Hm.

Okay. His students knew him. Cara knew him. But Luke lived in this tiny ass town. There’s no way he’s like, famous famous. 

Yep. Just some local name. That’s what Din’s telling himself.

“What about you?” Luke asked.

“I’m a teacher,” Din replied easily. Grogu nodded enthusiastically.

Luke brightened. Din didn’t think he could get any brighter. 

“Really?”

He nodded. “5th grade English.”

“Wow,” Luke said. “That sounds amazing.”

Din’s eyebrows raised. That’s not what he expected.

Luke chuckled. “I mean, I love being an actor. But there’s something so... special about teaching. I hope one day I’ll get the chance to train actors, I think I would love that.”

Din nodded, smiling softly. “I know what you mean.”

“Will you teach Grogu someday?” Luke asked. 

“Hm,” Din hummed, turning to his son. “If he can make it through Kindergarten without eating anymore frogs, then we’ll talk about me teaching him.” Grogu pouted, and Din let out a soft chuckle. He ruffled a hand through his son’s curls, who’s pout was soon replaced with a mischievous smile.

“He looks just like you.”

Din’s head shot up. ...what?

“...He does?”

“Yeah, you have the same eyes. Very... um... soft. Brown.” Luke looked down, a blush taking over his cheeks.

Din looked down to his son’s big, brown eyes, oblivious to Luke’s bashfulness.

“I adopted him.”

Luke’s looked up again quickly. “Really?”

Din nodded, moving to hold Grogu’s hand. “I.. found him. Hidden. In a closet. I heard gunshots, from my apartment, and I ran downstairs to see if I could help.” He bit his lip. Why the hell was he telling Luke this? He’s a stranger. Din didn’t tell anyone about this, about anything really. But when he looked at Luke, Din wanted to tell him everything. 

Grogu looked at his dad with the most loving expression on his sweet, little face.

“I don’t know the full story. I kicked down the door to their apartment, and a man had tore open the closet door where Grogu was hidden. He stood over him, ready to fire.

“I shot him in the head.”

Grogu patted Din’s arm reassuringly, and then climbed into his lap to embrace his father.

“I grabbed Grogu, and I just... couldn’t let him go.”

Grogu gripped Din’s shirt as tight as he could, and smiled up at his dad. Din closed his eyes, trying to will away his tears.

“Din, that’s... incredible.” 

Din looked up, and saw Luke looking at him with an awed expression.

“It looks like he can’t let you go, either.” Luke continued, smiling at Grogu.. 

Din let out a breathy laugh. “I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to unload that on you,” he said.

“No,” Luke said. “Really, I don’t mind. Thank you for telling me.” He gave Din a sweet smile, and Din felt his heart melt.

“Thank you, Luke,” Din said softly.

The three shared their meal, laughing and smiling harder than Din was used to. Din learned about Luke, how he always dreamed of adventure.

“I’ve found that everyday, as an actor,” Luke said, smiling down at his drink. But, I think may favorite adventure is just... living.”

He looked up to meet Din’s thoughtful eyes. “If that makes sense,” he quickly added, running a hand through his hair.

Din smiled. “Of course that makes sense.”

After a moment Din had to stop Grogu from eating the breadstick basket. Multiple times. Not the breadsticks, the basket.

Luke had just laughed, and Din thinks he secretly sided with Grogu. Traitor.

When done, they said their goodbyes. Luke had touched the side of Din’s arm gently, and Din swore he almost passed out.

They went their separate ways, and Din watched him go, eyes trailing after him from Luke’d enthusiastic wave until he was gone from sight. Din sighed, and tore his gaze away. Grogu looked at him smugly.

“What?” Din asked. Grogu sighed.

Damn. He definitely learned that from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!!


	3. Chapter 3

Luke was glowing. _Glowing._ He had just had lunch. 

With Din.

And Grogu!

It was amazing.

It was by complete accident too, Luke was taken by surprise when Din invited him to eat with their small family. He was just.. so sweet. 

And he saved his son? Holy shit this guy was amazing. And it certainly helped that his kid was adorable.

Luke smiled the whole way home, humming as he entered his apartment. Yes, he was an actor. Yes, he had a lot of money. But he was not going to live in some giant house by himself. So he rented a nice apartment where his friends and family visited whenever they wished. Exactly how Luke liked it.

As he got settled in his living room, Leia video called him.

“Luke!” She said as her face appeared on his phone. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it, my meeting got moved and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“Leia, don’t worry about it,” Luke said sincerely. Leia was a _senator_ , there was no way he was going to be mad at her for missing lunch. 

“You’re too nice for your own good, Luke,” she said, shaking her head. “Did you at least have a good time on your own?”

“Oh, I wasn’t on my own.”

Leia raised a brow.

Luke blushed. “A... nice man invited me to eat with him and his son.”

Leia stared at him. “...And you’re sure this wasn’t just some crazed fan trying to get with you?” She said, eyeing him.

Luke sputtered. “No! No, it wasn’t like that at all. I met him earlier this week. Honestly, I don’t think he recognizes me at all.”

“Is this the man everyone thinks you’re dating?”

Luke sighed. “Yeah... yeah it is.”

Leia looked at him, knowingly. “...and you like him?”

“No! Of course not,” Luke said, biting his cheek. “We barely know each other.” 

Unfortunately, he wanted to add.

She raised her brows. “Tell me about him.”

That, Luke could do.

“Leia, he’s so kind. The first thing he always wants to do his help. He has a son, a little boy he adopted. He literally saved his life. He’s so strong. So brave. And his _eyes_....”

Leia cut him off with a snort. Rude. He was in the middle of something.

“ _Luke_ ,” she said.

“What?”

She shook her head, sighing. “You’re an idiot.”

Well, duh, Leia but that doesn’t help him.

“See you later, Luke.” 

The call ended, and he tossed his phone across his coffee table.

What was that about?

He collapsed on his couch, and rubbed his hands over his face. God. 

He looked to his calendar on the wall, reminding him of the movie premiere he had in a couple weeks. Which meant interviews. And dressing nice.

Ughhhhhhh

He loved it, really. Most of the time. It was just... missing something. Someone.

-

Din lay on his back on the top row of the bleachers, defeated. He had thrown his arm over his eyes, refusing to acknowledge his own existence.

If no one could perceive him, that would be ideal.

It was his planning period, and he normally spent it watching Cara’s gym class. And that had been his plan, originally.

Until he had walked through the door.

“DJARIN!” Cara yelled, completely bringing her class to a halt. Every head in the room turned to look at him.

A nightmare, really.

Din froze, and Cara waved at her class to continue playing their rather intense game of dodgeball. She then stormed over to him.

“You went on a date?!” She asked, incredulous.

...what?

“...what the hell are you talking about?”

She shoved her phone in his face, and he grabbed it, sending a glare her way.

It was some post on some social media Din didn’t use. There was a blurry picture of a couple in a booth, only one man’s face being shown. The other was only the back of their head, with only their brown curls visible. And, of course, the man seen was none other than Luke Skywalker.

Uh oh.

“I can’t believe you went on a date with _the_ Luke Skywalker.”

“I _didn’t_ ,” Din said. “And stop it, I still don’t even know who he is.”

Cara rolled her eyes. “Din, how did this happen?”

Din sighed. “I went out to eat with Grogu, and Luke was there, alone. I guess his sister couldn’t make it. So I invited him to eat with us. That’s all, Cara.”

She stared at him. “That sounds like a date to me.”

Din groaned, and retreated to his hiding spot on top of the bleachers so Cara could finish her class. 

This was about to start being embarrassing.

That picture hadn’t blown up or anything, only a few locals had seen it when the waiter from the restaurant posted it on their private story. 

But still.

People seriously thought Luke was dating him. _Him_. No, that would never happen. Hopefully, no one else he knew would ever find out about this and he can continue on with his private life. He couldn’t...

Din couldn’t be the person for Luke.

“Why are you laying on top of the bleachers?”

Din shot up, whipping his head around to the man sitting beside him.

“Paz....” Din said. “When did you get up here? And _why_ are you here?”

The larger man snorted. “I just got here, you were too busy moping to hear. And Cara called me, said you needed more people to make fun of you.”

Din glared at him, and sighed. Paz never took it easy on him. Din could still feel the crick in his back from when Paz jumped on him as a wake up call when they were in army. But this... this was going to be a different kind of bullshit he had to put up with.

“I hope you got a visitors pass,” Din mumbled, laying back down and throwing an arm over his face. “If we go into another lockdown because of you I will not hesitate to throw you out the window.”

“You can’t throw me out the window.”

Bet.

Paz shook his head. “Honestly though, what’s going on?”

Din sighed, again. “Nothing,” he said. That’s the problem.

“It’s never nothing with you.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The last time you told me nothing, I find out two days later you decided to adopt a kid.” Paz said, leaning back against the wall.

“Have you considered I just don’t want to tell you?” Din muttered.

Paz shoved him, scoffing. “Din, come on. I want to help.”

Din sighed. “It’s dumb....”

“Who cares.”

Din huffed. 

_Fine._

“There’s... this guy...”

Paz gasped and he scooted closer towards him.

Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope-

“No keep going!” Paz said with his hands raised in an apology. “I’m sorry, I got excited. Please continue.”

Din huffed.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Din muttered, dropping his head in his hands. “I barely know him. But I know I want to see him again.”

“Din,” Paz said seriously. “Nothings wrong with you. It’s okay to like him.”

Din chewed his lip. Did he even like him? He’s met him _twice._ Get yourself together Djarin. How could he even tell? He just thought about Luke. Wanted to learn about him. Wanted to see his smile. Wanted to-

Damn.

No way in hell he was telling that to Paz, though.

“Thanks,” Din said finally. He sent a silent prayer that Paz would just drop the subject.

Paz nodded. “Course,” He said, slapping his friend on the shoulder. “Let me know when you decide to do something about it.”

Din shoved his side. Paz chuckled and got up to leave. 

He paused. “Can I know who it is?” Paz asked.

Ha. Wouldn’t he like to know.

“Not a chance, Vizsla.”

Unfortunately, he most definitely did get that chance. The next time Din saw Luke, he was in his pajamas. And it was all Paz’s fault.

Because for _some god damn reason, _Paz decided to drag Din’s ass to the gas station at 1:00 am in the morning.__

__Okay, maybe Din did know the reason. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. So he would be remaining in his pajamas _thank you very much. _____

____“I’m literally doing this for you, Djarin.”_ _ _ _

____“I was perfectly fine, thank you.”_ _ _ _

____Paz glared at him._ _ _ _

____Okay. Maybe not._ _ _ _

____Grogu was at a sleep over. His _first_ sleep over. Din wasn’t handling it well. He had stayed up all night worrying, anxiously checking his phone to make sure everything was okay. So of course when Paz texted him he responded immediately. It wasn’t even anything bad, just a simple greeting. But, it told Paz that he was still awake. Damn._ _ _ _

____“I’m telling you,” Paz said, a large hand on his shoulder. “All you gotta do is get out of the house, chug 3 large sodas, and eat one of these shitty hot dogs. It’ll knock you right out.”_ _ _ _

____“I seriously doubt that.”_ _ _ _

____“Come on, this is my secret strategy! You’ll be asleep in no time.”_ _ _ _

____That made zero sense. Hm. Unfortunately, Din didn’t have any better ideas._ _ _ _

____“How are you gonna handle that field trip Grogu has?” Paz asked offhandedly as they shuffled around the gas station. “That’s gonna be way worse than this-“_ _ _ _

____“Not helping.”_ _ _ _

____Din trailed behind his friend as he tiredly as he grabbed what they needed, until Paz froze. Din ran straight into him._ _ _ _

____“Paz, what the hell-“ Din grumbled. He stepped around the other man to stand beside him, and then he saw the figure at the end of the aisle. Oh._ _ _ _

____Paz gasped. “Is that Luke Sky-!?”_ _ _ _

____Din stomped on Paz’s foot, _hard.__ _ _ _

____“OW Djarin, the hell was that for?”_ _ _ _

____Luke straightened. He was bundled in a hoodie and cargo pants, tiredly staring at the shelves of candy. He looked up and met Din’s eyes._ _ _ _

____“Din!” Luke said, his exhausted eyes immediately brightening._ _ _ _

____Din smiled. “Hey.” He saw Paz’s jaw drop out of the corner of his eye, but he dutifully elected to ignore it. Luke bounded towards them._ _ _ _

____“I like your pants,” Luke said with a grin. Oh boy. Din looked down at his pajamas, and winced seeing the many faces of Kermit the frog looking back at him. Great._ _ _ _

____“Oh, uh... Grogu likes Kermit.”_ _ _ _

____“Which translates to Din likes Kermit,” Paz interjected. Din sighed._ _ _ _

____Luke nodded seriously. “Kermit is delightful.”_ _ _ _

____Din smiled, shaking his head. Then, he heard a sharp intake of breath from beside him._ _ _ _

____“Wait,” Paz said. “Is this the guy you were talking-?” Din stomped on his foot again. Paz let out a rush of swears, glaring at his friend and slapping him upside the head._ _ _ _

____Luke laughed. “So what are you guys doing here at 1 in the morning?” He asked._ _ _ _

____Well. Might as well be honest. “Can’t sleep,” Din replied, crossing his arms._ _ _ _

____Luke hummed. “I understand, it’s the same for me. I was hoping I was just hungry but I don’t think that’s the case.”_ _ _ _

____Din nodded. “Well, we do have a plan, if you’d like to try?”_ _ _ _

____Luke beamed. “I’ll try anything with you.”_ _ _ _

____Oh._ _ _ _

____Paz stared at them, jaw wide open. He quickly shut it with a smirk. “Well, well, well. Look who wants to try my plan _now._ ” He led the two of them around the store, until they had everything they needed. Then, they sat outside in the chill night air. They chugged 3 sodas, and ate the stupid shitty hot dog. _ _ _ _

____“How exactly does this work?” Luke asked, inspecting his food._ _ _ _

____“Unfortunately, I cannot answer that,” Paz responded. “This is the way.”_ _ _ _

____Din groaned. “Paz, you can’t keep saying that when you don’t know the answer to something.”_ _ _ _

____“ _This is the fucking way, Djarin._ ” _ _ _ _

____Din sighed, and Luke laughed. Din liked hearing him laugh. The three of them sat side by side, laughing in exhaustion as they attempted to down their drinks._ _ _ _

____Luke giggled. “I don’t know if I can finish this.” He held up his cup and leaned back, attempting to chug it. His other hand moved to sweep his bangs away from his eyes._ _ _ _

____Din grinned, and leaned forward to gently brush Luke’s hair from his forehead._ _ _ _

____..._ _ _ _

____Oh my god. Why the hell did he do that._ _ _ _

____He really needed a nap._ _ _ _

____He felt his face bloom with heat, and he ducked his head. But Luke just beamed brilliantly, leaning down to catch Din’s eye. Din felt his heart stutter, and he gave the other man a bashful smile._ _ _ _

____Eventually, they went home hoping to find some sleep. They parted with a farewell to Luke. Him and Din may have gazed at each other for a little longer than necessary. Shh._ _ _ _

____Paz dropped Din off at his door, but before he could go in he gripped his shoulder tight._ _ _ _

____“That’s the guy you were talking about?” He asked, staring at him intensely._ _ _ _

____Din clenched his jaw. “Yes.”_ _ _ _

____Paz stared at him, until his eyes softened. “Luke Skywalker, huh?”_ _ _ _

____He sighed. “Apparently.”_ _ _ _

____Paz chuckled, patting Din’s shoulder. “Tell me you have his number, at least.”_ _ _ _

____...shit._ _ _ _

____Din dropped his head into his hands._ _ _ _

____Paz groaned. “Useless. You’re absolutely useless.” He shook his head, then looked back to Din, strangely serious. “I, uh... I like him. He seems good for you.”_ _ _ _

____Din stared at him, eyebrows furrowing in disbelief._ _ _ _

____“Shut up,” Paz said quickly, showing Din’s arm._ _ _ _

____Din chuckled. “Thank you, Paz.”_ _ _ _

____“Course! Now get some goddamn sleep.”_ _ _ _

____Din chuckled, and stepped inside his house. He sighed, climbing into his bed yet again._ He knew Paz’s plan with the drinks and food was just a way to get him out of his head. Din appreciated it, really. And he definitely did not regret going to that gas station. _ _ _

____He hoped Grogu was doing okay._ _ _ _

____But then he shut his eyes, forcing himself to think of something else. Grogu was going to be okay. He had to be. And Din... Din’s thoughts returned to Luke. They no longer raced in worry for Grogu, now they circled back around Luke’s brilliant smile._ _ _ _

____And Din slept._ _ _ _


	4. Chapter 4

“Uncle Luke! Look at the bubbles!”

Luke grinned. “Those are the biggest bubbles I’ve ever seen.”

“I know! Let’s go see!” Ben grabbed his hand and dragged him closer. Leia laughed beside him, Han holding her hand, eyeing the bubbles.

Honestly. The Children’s Museum was awesome.

....But a little loud.

The 3 of them decided to do something fun for Friday. They were all free for once, and next week Luke would be off for his movie premiere. Ben was too young to be in school yet, so It was nice to be together when they could, and Luke loved spending time with his family. He even tried to look as unrecognizable as possible so they could enjoy the day. Luke had been sleeping surprisingly well this past week.

Han, for some strange reason, didn’t trust the bubbles. Luke just laughed and made the biggest ones he could as Han vented to his wife.

“You would think bubbles would be friendly, but let me tell you,” Han said, gesturing wildly. “They’re traitors. They look fun, but once that thing pops it gets all up in your eyes. Never again.”

Yeah. Luke wasn’t about to be a part of that conversation. He waved the bubble wand around and watched as other children ran around the museum.

Luke chuckled and he reached down to re-dip his wand, but froze as he felt a small weight wrap around his leg.

He looked down, and peered straight in to large, brown eyes.

“....Grogu?”

The child wrapped his small body around Luke’s leg, and buried his face against it. 

Luke felt him shaking. 

“Hey... it’s okay,” Luke said worriedly as he knelt down. “What’s going on? Where’s your dad?”

Grogu looked up and stared at Luke. His large eyes somehow got sadder.

Uh uh. Nopeeeeeeee

Luke held out his arms, and Grogu stumbled into them quickly. Luke wrapped his arms around him tightly, searching for his father.

What was happening? Where was Din? How did Grogu find him? Why did Luke’s heart break seeing him upset?

Luke whipped his head around, and didn’t see any sign of his father.

“Luke?” He heard Leia call. Luke turned to look at her, and she eyed the child in his arms suspiciously. “Please tell me you didn’t kidnap that child.”

“No!” Luke said. “This is Grogu, we’re friends.” Grogu nodded slightly as he held tightly to Luke. “I’m trying to find his dad.”

Leia arched a brow. “Hold up. Is this dad....?”

“Yes, it’s the same guy,” Luke explained. “Leia, come on we gotta find him.”

Leia nodded, grabbing Han and Ben to help. Luke rubbed Grogu’s back gently. “I’m sure he’s here somewhere,” Luke whispered, but Grogu’s lip just trembled. Huh.

“Hey!”

Luke whipped around and saw a woman stalking towards him. Oh boy.

As she got closer, Luke could see her hair was braided, falling on one side of her face. She had a ring of tattoos around one arm, and a small one under her eye. And then, Luke noticed her backpack and clipboard with the Elementary schools logo.

“Put him _down_ -“ she said viciously, but froze. Her eyes widened. 

Uh oh.

“You’re Luke Skywalker.”

Luke stared at her. This wasn’t really the best time. “...Hi?”

She stared back, then finally shook her head “Unbelievable,” she muttered. “Good to meet you, I guess. I’ve heard enough about you it feels like I’ve known you for years.”

“Oh, from the news-“

“Nope.”

...Um. Okay.

“Thank you for finding Grogu,” She said sincerely, looking at the boy in his arms “I was already planning my funeral for when Din found out.”

Luke chuckled. Yeah, he could see that.

“Is he here?” Luke asked, looking around again.

“No, Grogu’s grade is on a field trip,” she answered. “I’m Cara Dune, gym teacher, chaperone.”

Ah. That made sense.

“And Din’s friend.”

Ooh. 

Luke looked at Grogu snuggled against his chest, finally calming down. He should really let the boy go now, as much as he didn’t want to. He started to step towards Cara.

“Um... actually,” She said, crossing her arms. “Din should probably know what happened. He was really nervous about this trip, he’ll want to know.”

“Yeah, of course.” Luke said. She smirked. 

“You should tell him.”

...

“What?!”

“Well, you found his kid. Or he found you. And Din probably won’t kill you.”

“...probably?!”

Cara laughed, sweeping her hair out of her face. “I’m not taking any chances. You’ll have better luck.”

Luke sighed. ...He did want to talk to Din.

“And he likes you. Here’s his number,” Cara said handing Luke her phone. Luke took it, carefully typing the number into his cell.

Oh my god he has Din’s number.

...Wait. What did she just say?

“Hello?”

Luke dropped his phone. He fumbled with it and hastily held it up to his ear. Cara snorted. Grogu, somehow, gave him a knowing look.

Ouch.

“Um.. hi, Din?” Luke said. Silence answered him.

“...who the hell is this?” Din asked in his gruff voice. 

Cara facepalmed. “That fucking idiot,” she mumbled.

“Oh yeah, sorry, it’s Luke.”

“...Luke?”

Lukeeeeee please _get it together._

“Yeah, so um....” Luke took a deep breath. “I’m at the Children’s Museum right now, I have Grogu with me. Your friend says he ran away and somehow he found me. She wanted me to tell you what happened.” Luke winced.

For a few moments, all Luke heard was silence. 

“Is... he okay?” Din’s voice came out slightly strained.

“Yes of course!” Luke said quickly. “I should have started with that, I’m sorry.”

After a moment, Din let out a shaky sigh. “No, you have no need to apologize,” he said. “Thank you. Grogu , he... he gets nervous sometimes, in public.”

Luke turned to look at the child in his arms. “Well I definitely understand that,” he told both of them. “No worries at all.”

Grogu gave Luke a slight smile, and patted his chest gently. Luke could cry.

“Thank you, Luke,” Din said, softly. “I’m... glad you were there.”

Luke felt his heart melt. Apparently it was a very emotional day for him.

He felt Cara walk up to his side. “Hey, let me talk to him for a sec,” she said, holding her hand out for the phone.

As the two talked, Luke turned to Grogu. 

“Your dad loves you a lot,” he said. Grogu nodded seriously. Luke rubbed his back gently. After a few moments, Cara handed Luke back his phone.

“Din’s gonna come to pick him up,” She explained. “I think it’ll be better to just give him a break the rest of the day.”

Luke nodded. “Yeah, I agree.” Grogu seemed ready to fall asleep in his arms.

Cara smirked. “His dad too, lord knows he was stressing about this. I’m surprised we didn’t give him a heart attack.”

That would’ve been a tragedy.

“You want to wait with the kid til Djarin comes?”

“...if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, that’s okay.” She looked at her watch. “I gotta meet up with the other chaperones and kids, but Din knows to find you here.”

Luke nodded. Cara got ready to go, and said goodbye to Grogu sweetly. She turned to Luke. “You’re different than I expected,” she said suddenly. 

He raised an eyebrow. 

“Celebrities usually disappoint me, and I’ve never even met one before,” she explained. “They turn out to be transphobic or some shit, but you seem like a good man. And Din... he trusts you. That’s all I need to know.”

Luke felt butterflies in his stomach. Cara smiled, slapping his shoulder. 

“Don’t screw this up,” she said.

God, there’s a statement Luke agreed with.

Cara walked away, leaving Luke with Grogu. He couldn’t believe Cara trusted him with this.

“You got it bad, kid.”

Luke jerked his head up to look Han in the eye. Leia and Ben stood next to him.

“I...” 

“Don’t deny it,” Han said, laughing. “Just causally watching his kid. I get it.”

Leia nudged his arm. “We’re gonna keep going through the museum, meet up with you later?” She winked at him. Luke sputtered.

“Have fun with your man!” Han shouted as they walked away. Jesus. It’s probably a good thing they left, he couldn’t imagine how they would embarrass him when Din showed up.

He turned back to Grogu. “How you doing, buddy?” He asked gently. Grogu gave him a slight nod, and played with Luke’s messy hair. Luke chuckled, he purposely did his hair kind of crazy today, hoping it would throw people off if they recognized him. Grogu didn’t seem to mind, and just giggled as he ran his little hands through it.

Luke watched as he played for awhile, until Grogu perked up suddenly. Luke sat up, and Grogu started to squirm and crawl out of his lap.

“Grogu...?” The boy landed on the ground, and held his arms up as a disheveled man quickly made his way to him. Din dropped down on one knee and swept Grogu into his strong arms.

“Hey kid,” he breathed. “Are you okay?” The boy beamed, and hugged his fathers neck tight. Luke saw Din’s shoulders relax, and he turned to him.

“Luke,” he said. Din was dressed professionally, but still casual. His button up shirt showed his broad shoulders, a tie around his neck, and his hair a mess, likely from running his hands through it. “I... thank you.” His eyes were fiercely sincere, gazing into Luke’s.

Luke smiled at him. “It was my pleasure, really,” he said. “Grogu’s great.” He saw the boys grin grow at the compliment.

Din chuckled, patting Grogu’s back. “Yeah, he is.” Din stepped over and took the seat next to Luke. “I... really appreciate you doing this. I’m glad Grogu trusts you.”

Luke practically glowed. “That means a lot, that he trusts me.” He felt tightness creep in his throat. Was he about to cry?

“I... trust you too, Luke.”

He might cry.

Luke just looked softly at him, at a loss for words.

Din stood up. “Well Grogu, looks like we get the rest of the day off.” The boy giggled, grabbing at his dads hair. Din smiled at his son, before he pulled a nervous expression, closing his eyes and reopening them quickly.

“I’m... glad you ran into me,” He said quietly, avoiding Luke’s eyes.

And then he walked away.

Luke sat there, in shock, the tightness in his throat still there. He sighed, pulled out his phone, and clicked on his sisters contact.

_Is it possible to be in love with a man I’ve met like 4 times?_

-

As Din tucked his son in for the night, he placed a kiss on the top of his head. “I love you, Grogu,” he said, seriously.

“I love you too, papa,” Grogu answered with a smile. His voice was soft, seldom used. But when he did speak, he meant every word.

Din smiled, ruffling his hair. “I’m glad you were okay today, kid. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“It’s okay, you can’t miss work,” Grogu said seriously. Din chuckled.

“Mm,” he hummed. “I dunno, maybe I can be a bad influence every once in a while.”

Grogu giggled. “Then can I miss school?”

“Oh I see, you’re a delinquent now?”

Grogu laughed, and Din’s grin was wide. “I thought you were a delinquent?” The boy asked.

“Only as a teenager,” he answered. “You’re gonna have to wait a couple years.”

Grogu pouted. Din chuckled, tucking the blankets around him tighter.

“And Luke was there,” his son continued. “So it was okay.”

Din hummed. “You like him? Luke?”

Grogu nodded. “It was scary, at first. But I found him, and he made it okay. He’s nice.”

Din nodded. He understood. Luke was... everything good in the world. Din was so worried about this trip. So, so worried. But of course... Luke was there. And everything was okay. Din couldn’t even comprehend what he felt for this man. All he could say was that he trusted him, that he was glad to meet him, before running away. It was all he could say. He hoped Luke understood.

“Yeah, he is,” Din answered softly.

“He likes you too.” 

Din breath caught at his sons words.

“...he does?”

“Yeah,” Grogu said. “He looks at you funny.” 

...right.

Grogu tried to continue, but a yawn overtook his words. Din chuckled. “Looks like it’s time for bed.” He stood up, placing one last kiss on his son’s head. 

“Sweet dreams, kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I really appreciate every comment and kudos they seriously make my day.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, thanks for reading! I have this whole thing completely written, so updates will be every couple of days. It’s around 18k words in all. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I’ve had a great time writing it and it’s completely self-indulgent. Hopefully I’ll see you for the next chapter!


End file.
